According to a report from Las Vegas Review-Journal, what is being called the largest fire in the city in 25 years by fire officials struck downtown Las Vegas, Nevada, early Sunday, damaging at least 10 buildings, torching dozens of cars, and displacing around 100 residents of the Urban Lofts Townhomes at 200 Tower Street.
Las Vegas Fire Rescue (LVFR) officials said one person suffered minor smoke inhalation. As of Sunday night, LVFR officials have not disclosed a possible cause of the fire.
Shortly before 1 a.m., fire crews returning from a call saw smoke emanating from the complex.
Fire officials said 40 units with 140 firefighters, including crews from North Las Vegas and Clark County Fire Departments, responded and had extinguished most of the flames by 6 a.m.
On arrival, LVFR crews found the vacant fourplex fully engulfed, giving of “extreme heat.” Seeing that other buildings were threatened, crews began waking residents, according to a LVFR news release.
Complex residents as well as a construction company currently working on an expansion there have talked about ongoing issues with squatters and break-ins.
Tracey Hill, project manager Urban Lofts Townhomes, said the fourplex where the flames are suspected to have ignited was a “sitting duck” for intruders. She also said that NV Energy had stalled the construction project because of an issue with underground power lines.
The flames spread quickly to an NV Energy utility pole, knocking down power lines and causing a large blackout in the downtown area of the city, the LVFR said. The flames jumped walls and ripped through adjacent businesses as well as a motel-style apartment complex.
The fire remained under investigation, and a full assessment of the damage will not be available for several days, according to fire officials.
Firefighters continued to douse buildings from an engine’s ladder.
According to an employee of nearby Perfect Auto Body, 35 cars in their yard were also destroyed.
The ravaged buildings were located about a mile away from what was the deadliest fire in recent Las Vegas history, where six residents were killed at a fire at the Alpine Motel in December 2019.
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